LDS temple picture quiz: Western U.S. edition

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints currently has 143 temples operating around the world, according to the church's Newsroom website.

This picture quiz is part of a series that will test your knowledge of temple designs. This edition includes 44 temples located in the Western U.S. states. Subsequent lists will include temples from other areas of the U.S. and around the world.

Locations in this list include:

Utah: 16 temples

California: seven temples

Arizona: five temples

Idaho: five temples

Washington: three temples

Oregon: two temples

Nevada: two temples

Colorado: two temples

New Mexico: one temple

Montana: one temple

Temples that are currently under construction or renovation are included in the list.

Temples that have been announced and are currently in the planning process are not included. The following temples fall into this category:

I was really thrown off by the Ogden temple. I was expecting to see
Provo's twin. I guess I was out of the loop of that renovation.

I agree the small temples are almost impossible to distinguish from one
another, and I wish they would update those with minor changes to give them
character, like changes the spires from lego block style to something more
appealing--kinda like what they've done with some of the newer small
temples, like Comlumbia River and Gila Valley. However, Monticello, Anchorage,
and Juarez could stay untouched as they were the first to be built this way.

The 1980's temples--Boise, Portland, Las Vegas, etc.--are also
difficult as they all follow the same pattern but have subtle differences.

Having just lived in New Mexico for 8 years, I've never understood
the Albuquerque temple, with its entrance in the rear of the building. It
really is strange and not very attractive.

I did pretty good, getting all correct except 5, which were some that
aren't yet finished and a couple of the Mini-Temples mixed up.

Yes, they need all the temples because there is a reason to have them closer
to the members. That's why they have a small version in Monticello, for
example, yet there are still many who drive for hours to get there from
Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The buildings have subtle design
differences in them and if you are familiar with the site, you can pick out
which building it is. That isn't as big a deal as some would assert,
however.

I do like the coloration of the Albuquerque Temple (and
landscaping) and enjoyed my visit there. There are reasons for where the
entries are located but what's important is what happens inside regarding
blessings, not where you enter.

Where General Conference is coming up soon, I will toss out my speculation of
four additional western states locations that have potential within the next few
years: Toole, Utah, Pocatello, Idaho, Missoula, Montana and Evanston, Wyoming.

@sid 6.7, yes, there is definitely a need for at least this many temples in the
western US (in fact, we may not have enough for the workload during peak hours).
There are really 2 reasons to build a new temple instead of just sending people
to one that already exists. (1) Bring the temples to the people. This is
happening in Europe and Africa right now. (2) Take the stress off of temples
that are being used at or beyond capacity. #2 is why there are so many temples
in the western US. Temples along the Wasatch Front, for example, are the busiest
in the world. Filling the previous temple is definitely why the Provo City
Center (UT), Payson(UT), Cedar City (UT), and Meridian (ID) temples were
announced, for example. Thank you for asking respectfully, and I hope this
answers your question/concern.

@sid 6.7It's a good question. As the Church leadership has stated
before, the active membership calls for the number of Temples. You go in any
Temple in Utah at any given time of any given day and it is ridiculously busy.
This would be the case everywhere, if the membership called for it!

Wow, didn't realize there were so many new temples in the Western U.S.

The Midwest is getting its share as well. But what about states like
Arkansas? All members in Arkansas must travel to one of the surrounding states
(all of which have at least two or more temples each).

In Oct 1997
Pres. Hinckley suggested that initially the new smaller temples would be located
in remote areas where "the membership is small. . ."

"We
are determined, brethren, to take the temple to the people...."

May Pres.Hinckley's vision be completely fulfilled under the leadership
of our current Pres.Monson and those who follow him.

I liked this. A little more info about each of the temples featured would have
been nice but as it is it provided a little inspiration tonight. I've been
to a few of these and am grateful for all of them. In recent months I've
been in parts of California that are still quite a distance from a temple. I
hope to see a temple some day along the coast north of San Francisco
(i.e.Sonoma, Mendocino, Humbolt counties). Thanks again for this article.

I knew one. Vernal. The reason I knew it was I remembered reading about it being
a refurbish of an existing building and the different color (red) of the
exterior makes it the only one to have a unique appearance. The rest just all
look the same to me. A few basic exterior designs used over and over. I even did
a double take on SLC as the photo shown is not the "traditional" pose.
But it wasn't part of the quiz anyway.